Abigail Ruhman
Health ReporterAbigail Ruhman is a member of KERA's specialty beats team as its Health Reporter. Abigail was previously the statewide health reporter for the Indiana Public Broadcasting News Team, covering health policy. They graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s in journalism and a Bachelor of Arts with a dual emphasis in sociology and women's and gender studies.
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The Department of Homeland Security wants to eliminate guidelines around what public benefits can be considered in a "public charge" determination. Experts and advocates warn it could lead to a "chilling effect" in migrant communities. -
The U.S. Postal Service changed when mail is postmarked as it's being processed – which could cause issues with time-sensitive mail like ballots and taxes. But, advocates worry the change could also lead to a loss of coverage and access to services, especially for people with disabilities. -
There's a nationwide shortage of nurses who can provide sexual assault care. A recent UT Arlington study found rural nurses encounter unique challenges when trying to access training to fill that gap. -
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants state agencies to implement new "strong anti-fraud measures" to a program that providers financial support to eligible families to pay for child care. It comes after the Trump administration froze federal funding to Child Care Services programs after a viral video claimed widespread fraud in Minnesota. -
Public health officials warn law enforcement and border patrol activity are discouraging people from getting vaccines and other types of preventive health care. A North Texas health leader was among the officials who highlighted the issue. -
Texas is set to receive the largest award from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program — with federal officials awarding $1.4 billion to the state over five years. The state received millions more in funding that it asked for in its application. -
UT Southwestern was selected by the state to run the Texas Behavioral Health Center — the first state behavioral health hospital in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The new hospital, set to open this summer, will provide inpatient services for people with serious mental health issues -
Shanice Jordan is one of the four million Texans enrolled in an Affordable Care Act health plan. But subsidies that make plans through the federal health insurance marketplace more affordable are set to expire at the end of the year — meaning Jordan and other Texans will premiums that are more than double what they currently pay. -
The federal health insurance marketplace open enrollment deadline for plans that start on Jan. 1 is less than a week away. There's still a lot of uncertainty surrounding coverage, but advocates say everyone with an Affordable Care Act should verify their information and select a plan ahead of Monday’s deadline. -
A group of local health leaders from across the country said they're worried about how an upcoming meeting could affect immunization access and rates. The meeting could mean changes to more federal vaccine recommendations for serious viruses — like hepatitis B. -
The UNT Dallas campus in southern Dallas has a new addition: a 120,200-square-foot STEM building. The university said the new space, along with new programs and partnerships with UNT Health in Fort Worth, will expand capacity to train students in the health care and science workforce pipeline. The goal is to address workforce shortages in Dallas and beyond. -
About 1,500 rural hospitals were eligible to convert to “Rural Emergency Hospitals” beginning in 2020. Researchers at UT Arlington want to take a closer look at the 40 hospitals that entered the program to understand whether it has improved access to care in rural communities.
